A few things I'm learning and unlearning as a first-time-founder:
- Ambition is good, provided there is some level of direction; even Icarus knew in which direction he was flying.
- Draw up best- and worst-case scenarios before pursuing anything to manage expectations early on.
- Anyone can start a company, not just anyone can – or wants to seriously – build products people love to use.
- Emotion and ego can be good motivators, but keep both in check to avoid bad decisions.
- Read others' stories, listen to advice, and develop the required discernment and pattern recognition.
- Do not emulate others simply for the sake of it. Another ode to discernment.
- Sometimes pivot, and other times wait it out and grind out a full rep. More importantly, have conviction in whichever you choose.
- Burning bridges isn't inevitable. Try to not let this happen.
- Follow your intuition, and believe that things will fall into place. Yes, another ode to conviction.
- Time feels scarce, yet also abundant. I am trying to think less about time conceptually.
- Door-to-door sales is a pain in the ass. High-friction, low-scale sales are rarely worth it in most cases.
- People tend to get naturally energised by ideas they believe in. If in doubt of their enthusiasm, there's the answer.
- Mind games are a waste of time, you're better off taking things at face value. See #9.
- If an idea takes longer than a month to validate with a handful of users, no one probably wants it.
- Seriously, do NOT go door-to-door. Not only is it tedious, it's pretty ineffective given the alternative channels at our disposal.
- Be wary of big talkers with little risk appetite.
- Building products for high-trust markets is only worth it if you have the network or a truly pressing solution. Otherwise, you'll burn months gaining 'trust' before realising the idea was mediocre and/or undesirable.
- Don't completely avoid working with friends, but simply choose wisely.
- Having a group of people you can count on makes this thing 10x easier.
- Having a group of people you can celebrate little wins with makes this thing 100x more worth it.